Week 29, Day 205, November 14, 2009, Ludlowville Falls

I like these falls. Many times when I go there are only a few of us.  My daughter used to have an apartment nearby, so it also reminds me of her.

  I like the formation of the falls.  There is a large solid piece of limestone over a lot of shale.  It's that large solid layer of stone just above the spout of the falls. This limestone erodes much more slowly than the shale around it.  So there is a little cave behind the waterfalls to the left of this photo.

The cave is very dark, so those photos weren't as nice as this one.  In this photo, I  like how the water flows down in that one pocket, and is lofted into the air.

 Lessons Learned:

• I was thinking about the photo from yesterday.  I was thinking how it's probably a photo that I appreciate more than most of the blog readers because I know the people.  My emotions play a large part of what I enjoy in photography.

What are some of your photos that containing a much greater meaning than the photo itself?

Photo details: Exposure time 1/3 sec, Aperture f/22.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 40 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 65mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, tripod, circular polarizer filter.

Week 29, Day 204, November 13, 2009, Sometimes You Need to Prove The Critics Wrong.

Syracuse Post-Standard columnist Neil Kerr predicted, "Why even bother playing this game? Westmoreland rolled through the regular season, it rolled through the Section III tournament, and it will likely roll all the way to a state championship."

Sometimes you need to prove the critics wrong, and tonight the Groton Boys Football Team succeeded.

I'm very biased toward this team, and enjoy photographing them.  My son plays for the team.  If they win the next two games they will be the state champions.  We're very proud of them.

Lessons Learned:

• Stadium Lighting can be very tricky.  Sometimes I'm getting very bright photos, and other times darker photos.  I think I need to switch the Metering Mode to include more of the field of view.
• The sign as a prop helps to make this photo.
  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/100 sec, Aperture f/4.5, ISO 1600, Focal Length 70 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 114mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, handheld.

Week 28, Day 203, November 12, 2009, Vine

This is one of those times that I'm intrigued with the subject, but i haven't captured it correctly.  I like the curls of the vine, it almost seems like a language of it's own.

I hope to go back, and take a tripod, and steady the vine from the wind to capture the image better.

What parts of nature capture your attention?

Lessons Learned:

• When I'm stressed it's more difficult to be creative.  I planned on taking photos at lunch time, but was thinking about getting back to work to resolve and issue.  It killed my creativity.
  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/25 sec, Aperture f/4.0, ISO 200, Focal Length 35 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 56mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held, circular polarizer filter.

Week 28, Day 202, November 11, 2009 The Sky is the Limit

It was a great morning, so I hopped off the bus on North Campus, and walked to my office.  As I was walking I passed the Fuertes Observatory at Cornell University. 

According to the Cornell Web Site, "The main telescope at Fuertes is a 12" refractor, with a mechanical tracking mechanism that is operated by weights, like a grandfather's clock."

I haven't been through the building to see it yet, but it's open to the public on clear Friday Nights.  See the web site for more details.

Lessons Learned:

• I need a good set of gloves that keep my hands warm, and allow me to change the settings on my camera.  If the gloves are to thick, it's difficult to change the setting.  It's very easy to accidentally push the wrong button.  If they are to thin, my hands don't stay very warm.
• I was very disappointed in some of the photos that I ordered online prints.  I just ordered a new printer so that I can more easily control, and see the effects of what I'm printing.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/30 sec, Aperture f/8.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 17 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 28mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held, circular polarizer filter.

Week 28, Day 201, November 10, 2009, Self Reflection

Judy and I met Gary and Maude at the Chapter House after work for some great popcorn, and something to wash the popcorn down.

After the meeting, Judy and I went to one of our favorite restaurants in Collegetown.  It's a Vietnamese restaurant.  The food is very light, and very tasty.

While we were waiting for our food I noticed my reflection in the window, so I decided to take a self portrait.  You may recognize the bar across the road from the Mustang Mike photo.

Lessons Learned:

• Many times reflections require a manual focus.  The camera was focusing on the building across the road, and it was difficult to see the reflection.  With manual focus I could focus on the reflection.  I also discovered (on another day) that a polarizing filter can cause problems with reflections.
• A Water Glass can make a great tripod.
  

 Photo details: Exposure time 1/8s, Aperture f/8.0, ISO 1600, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 81mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, water glass tripod.

Week 28, Day 200, November 9, 2009, Oak Leaves

When my children where younger, I used to pick up oak leaves and put them on my nose, and tell the kids that I had oak leaf (Oakley) glasses.  They would roll their eyes, and I would explain that as a father I had to embarrass them.

The Oak leaves are one of the last leafs to fall off the tree at the end of the season.  As a matter of fact some of them stay on the tree until the spring when the new leaves bud.

With gray skies, I thought these leaves made interesting patterns.

Lesson Learned:

• Nothing new to report today.  It was a rough day.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/800, Aperture f/1.8, ISO 100, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 211mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, hand held.

Week 28, Day 199, November 9, 2009, Old Barn in the Fall, Weekly Winner in Online Viewer Poll

It's an incredible day. It's 60 degrees. The sun is shining, and all the leaves are off the trees.

Many times when I photograph things I tend to use specific lens for specific types of photography.  My wider angle lens I use the most.  My telephoto lens I tend to use on sports photography, or when objects are far away.  My 50mm lens has a narrow aperture setting with a f-stop of 1.8.  I tend to use that for people, or very low light when I can get close to objects.

Because I have these options of lens, and usually have access to all of them, I tend to limit how I photograph.  Today I went for a walk with just one lens to try and see things in new ways, and photograph in new ways.  I took my telephoto lens.  I think I shall try this more often.

Lessons Learned:

• Try new things for new results.

Weekly winner in online viewer poll.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/8.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 108 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 176mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, handheld, Changed to sepia with Picasa.

This Monochrome concept came from Aileni at The Monochrome Weekly